Winners of the Open Chess tournament held in Scarborough on
Saturday. From left Joshua Johnson, Carl Jacobs (behind), Olivia
Clarke, Chantal Fitzpatrick, Jabari Lewis and Tamara Drakes.

After some 20 years, tournament
chess returned to Tobago on Saturday not with a bang, but not with a
whimper either. The open event, following an eight-week programme of
training for Tobagonians of all ages, did not attract as many
“graduates” as expected but it turned out to be an enjoyable
experience nevertheless. The training sessions and the contest which
followed were a joint effort of the Rhand Credit Union Society Ltd
and the T&T Chess Foundation aimed at reviving the sport of chess in
the sister isle after two decades of inactivity. Saturday’s
tournament, played at Rhand’s Scarborough branch office, was
contested in two divisions, adult and junior.

The first attracted 12 players
while six juniors competed in the second. Chantal Fitzpatrick,
former Ladies National and Under-16 Champion, won the senior trophy
via the tie-break as she finished the five round event on four
points alongside veteran Carl Jacobs. Joshua Johnson, national
Under-10 champion, and Vaughn Laptiste, teacher at Mason Hall
Primary, who finished on three and a half points each, took third
and fourth places respectively. Closely behind them were Gabriella
Johnson and Ray Charles, both on three. Other places went to Andre
Sims, Eli Williams, James Baptiste, on two points each, Marielle
Sims and Julien Lewis, one point five each and Raymond Wallace.

Jabari Jabez Lewis of Bishop’s
played unbeaten to top the juniors with four and a half points.
Other results: Olivia Clarke and Tamara Drakes three each; Erin
Wallace two; Akiel Adams one and a half; Seth Aqui one. After the
games, the trophies were presented to the winners by James Baptiste,
Branch Manager of Rhand and a former Tobago junior champion.
Baptiste expressed the hope that the effort to reactivate the sport
of chess in the sister isle would continue, particularly for the
benefits the game could bring to the island’s young people. In his
turn, Edison Raphael, president of the T&T Çhess Foundation, pointed
out that while the Let’s Play Chess training programme was a
success, attracting some 36 participants, including youngsters and
their parents from all over the island, the turnout at the
tournament was not as strong as expected, and this indicated the
amount of work that still has to be done to revive the sport in the
island.

He commended Rhand Credit Union for
its enthusiastic partnership in the enterprise and, speaking to
Double Rooks later, indicated that, apart from continued training,
the need was to find a centralised venue where players can meet and
enjoy the game on a regular basis. He hoped that Tobago veterans
such as Denise Charles, former national junior champion, Nigel Duke,
Anthony Arnold and Tuco Moheini, all former top players in the
island, would come forward to assist the resuscitation effort.
Raphael even looked forward to the time when starting a new chess
club in Tobago would become feasible. “We are happy to have brought
back tournament chess to Tobago, although we expected a wider
participation,” said Raphael. “But after such a long time we are
virtually starting from scratch. We believe, however, the sport can
contribute to building the Tobago society, particularly the thinking
skills of its youth, as it is doing in other parts of the world. “So
we are certainly not giving up the struggle,” he assured.